For all of that talk about how LeBron James was forever ruining his public image and marketability by spurning Cleveland to take his talents to South Beach, the man sure seems to have his business side on lock. In fact, he has the best-selling jersey of the season. James's new Heat number 6 jersey bumped off Kobe Bryant's Lakers jersey, which has reigned atop the sales chart for the past two seasons.
The figures are based on sales since the beginning of the season on the NBA's official webstore, so they're not conclusive but are commonly used as a barometer for overall jersey sales. James had last topped the list in 2004-05.
The Heat's Dwyane Wade also appears on the list at number six. He previously topped the chart beginning in 2005, after knocking off James, and stayed there till 2007. Bryant had ruled the list until the new figures were released.
James is also the only player in the top five to have changed teams, meaning the fact that his die-hard fans and new Miami supporters were eager to stock up on his new red-and-black threads might have helped his sales figures.
Though the Heat still isn't the best-selling team in the NBA when it comes to jerseys. The Boston Celtics had five separate players make the top 15, while the Heat's Chris Bosh couldn't crack the list. The Lakers also sold the most gear overall.
In terms of total gear sold, the Heat came in third after the Lakers and Celtics.
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